MUMBAI ON HIGH ALERT AS AHMEDABAD RETURNS TO NORMAL AFTER

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MUMBAI 000364 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PTER ASEC PGOV ECON PK IN SUBJECT: MUMBAI ON HIGH ALERT AS AHMEDABAD RETURNS TO NORMAL AFTER WEEKEND BLASTS REF: A. A. MUMBAI 360 ¶B. B. MUMBAI 339 MUMBAI 00000364 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Following serial blasts in two major cities on July 25 (Bangalore) and July 26 (Ahmedabad),India's commercial capital Mumbai will continue to remain on high alert until at least Indian Independence Day on August 15. In the meantime, life is returning to normal in Ahmedabad and the threat of communal violence is low. Quick deployment of the army by the Central Government, as well as responsible statements by the Gujarat state BJP leadership, have gone a long way to minimizing Hindu-Muslim tensions in Gujarat, according to our interlocutors. ¶2. (SBU) Summary continued. Contrary to media reports, the threatening email by a terrorist group does not mention economic targets such as the Bombay Stock Exchange. However, the email does threaten the head of Reliance Industries Mukesh Ambani for alleged misappropriation of Muslim community trust lands to build his new residence, located near Consulate residences. End Summary. MUMBAI ON HIGH ALERT -------------- ¶3. (SBU) On July 27, both the Mumbai Police Commissioner Hassan Gafoor and Vilasrao Deshmukh, Congress Party Chief Minister of Maharashtra used the media to assure people that Mumbai police are taking adequate precautions in view of the serial blasts in Bangalore (July 25),and Ahmedabad (July 26). Police carried out surprise traffic checks as well asincreased their presence at train stations and important land marks. The Times of India received a hoax bomb call on Sunday afternoon, which prompted a thorough check of the building by the bomb squad. AHMEDABAD BLAST TOLL RISES -------------- ¶4. (SBU) By the evening of July 27, the death toll from the July 26 serial blasts in Ahmedabad had increased to 49 dead and 161 injured. (See ref A) Government News Agency Press Trust of India (PTI) reported that an alleged SIMI operative Abdul Halim was detained in Ahmedabad on Sunday, in connection with the blasts, though our Pol-Econ contacts could not confirm the news. On Sunday, July 27, two vans laden with explosives were found in Surat, a commercial city 185 miles to the South of Ahmedabad. (Planting bombs on vehicles and parking them in crowded places has been a method used in a number of serial blasts in 2006, �0A;2007, and 2008.) INTERLOCUTORS SAY HINDU-MUSLIM TENSION UNLIKELY IN -------------- -------------- AHMEDABAD -------------- ¶5. (SBU) According to BJP and Congress contacts polled Monday morning, life in Ahmedabad is returning to normal. There is little likelihood of communal tension at least in the near future. On Saturday, the evening of the blasts, the state's ruling BJP immediately pressed into service ground level activists to organize massive blood donation drives in the three hospitals where the injured were being brought in. The Congress Party organized the supply of life-saving medicines by mobilizing contacts in the pharmaceutical industry. ¶6. (SBU) According to reliable print media reports, by midnight Saturday, the Government of Gujarat had requisitioned central forces, and on Sunday morning, two Army columns were staging a flag march in the affected areas of Ahmedabad. Both BJP chief minister Narendra Modi and Health and Welfare Minister Minister Jay Narayan Vyas appealed for calm and restraint. They also said that the attack was "against humanity" and "against the entire nation", giving a united rather than a communally divisive message. A respected ex-BJP, now Congress member leader told Congenoff, "I see no danger of communal riots right now. This time, the public opinion is not getting divided on communal lines; every one is viewing it as a threat to the nation by people jealous of India's progress (a thinly veiled reference to Pakistan)." INDIAN MUJAHEEDIN E-MAIL -------------- ¶7. (SBU) A group calling itself Indian Mujahideen claimed MUMBAI 00000364 002.2 OF 002 responsibility for the attacks and challenged officials to stop the bombs in an email minutes before the first explosion in Ahmedabad. The email was sent from a IP address in Navi Mumbai, a suburb of Mumbai, where an American citizen was living. The citizen is still being questioned by the police about how his e-mail address could have been used for sending the e-mail and the hard drive of his computer has been confiscated. He is being allowed access to the American Citizen Services. He is not a suspect in the blasts and is not under detention or arrest (See ref A). ¶8. (SBU) The group laid out demands including release of SIMI activists held on terrorism-related charges in Indore, Ujjain, Mumbai and cities in Karnataka. The e-mail stated further that if the activists were not released, there could be a repeat of the Mumbai train bombings of July 2006. The email also warned the Times of India media group to stop engaging in a perceived anti-Muslim bias in its reporting. 9 (SBU) The email spoke of avenging the "Indore riots" that took place recently after the Jammu and Kashmir government's decision to rescind allocation of land to Hindu pilgrims (See ref B). There was also a warning to Maharashtra's chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and state home minister R. R. Patil claiming the Maharashtra government is not doing enough to stop discrimination and violence against the Muslim community. ¶10. (SBU) Finally, the e-mail held out veiled threats to India's richest businessman Mukesh Ambani. "We also alert Mukesh Ambani to think twice before usurping and building a citadel on a land in Mumbai that belongs to the Waqf Board, lest it turns into horrifying memories for you which you will never forget." (Note: A Reliance Group company called Antilia Commercial purchased a 4,500 sq meter plot on which Mukesh Ambani's lavish residence is to be built, from a Muslim sect-run Orphanage. However, some opponents appealed in court saying that the orphanage did not have the authority to sell the land. The Maharashtra State Waqf Board (a special government body that administers Muslim charities) tried to change the land allotment to Ambani. Opponents also allege that the land was sold to the Reliance company at one-twentieth the market price, which raised protests from the Muslim community. In May 2008 the Indian Supreme Court refused to interfere with an interim order of Bombay High Court for a stay on the decision to cancel sale of the land. The land is very close to some U.S. Consulate Mumbai residences. End Note.) COMMENT: -------------- ¶11. (SBU) Media and police think that the Indian Mujahedeen is just a new name for the banned Students Islamic Movement of India. That thinking seems to be warranted going by the tone of the e-mail and its contents. The reassuring factor is the responsible position by Gujarat BJP leadership to avoid communal conflagration in Gujarat. Mumbai, and Maharashtra, on the other hand, would remain on alert, especially because the 10 day long Hindu festival of Lord Ganesha is just round the corner (begins August 3),and traditionally minor Hindu-Muslim skirmishes always break out during the Hindu processions during these ten days. FOLMSBEE